Twisted

The wife and I were outrunning errands inthe GT this afternoon--her driving, and me, post neck surgery, in a collar. We stopped at two places, turned off the car, and both times, smelled raw gas. My car has never smelled like gas in the past, but now I'm getting faint wafts of it. The smell seems to be coming from under the hood, but I can't be sure. It seemed to start right as the gas light came on--related or not, I don't know. Anyone ever had this issue arise suddenly before? What ended up being the source of the smell? Thanks.


As an aside, a month ago, I went to EZ Lube and let them change my oil and fuel filter--first time I've ever let anyone do maintenance on any of my vehicles. Long story short, they wound up not clipping the fuel line all the way onto the new filter. 15 miles later the line popped off and mad gas poured out onto Newport Blvd. I climbed under the car and popped it back on (with two herniated discs in my neck at the time[:@]). The line clicked onto the filter very securely, so I don't think that's the problem this time. Unfortunately, I can't climb under there and look right now. Any ideas?

WhiteFoxGT

If the fuel lines are secure, and the rail isnt leaking, then it could be the filler neck seal. They are known to go bad

Twisted

Thanks, WhiteFox. I actually just replaced that seal like a year ago. Good thinking though. I have suspicion that the rails or injectors might be leaking, but can't see anything obvious.

I just remembered, for the time I've owned the car, I've had a code 85--bad charcoal cylinder purge solenoid, or some nonsense. It's never given me any issue, so I sort of forgot about it. Odd that it would just start givingproblems after two years, what issues can arisefrom this solenoid being bad? Thanks.

WhiteFoxGT

Ah yes, the charcoal canister... Its like the old school vapor management valve.. That could definately cause your smell. If I remember, the fuel tank has vent tubes going into the canister, and the canister than "treats" the fumes and makes it "better for the environment". Check to make sure those 2 caps are still on the canister, then check the condition of the rubber lines going to it. They are probably all dry rotted. The solenoid opens and closes and allows the flow of fumes (hydrocarbons) into the canister

Twisted

Thanks for the info, WhiteFox. I guess it could be the vapor recovery system. It just seems odd that it would wait two years to start acting up, when the solenoid has been bad the whole time. I guess I should change the thing anyway. I just feel like it's got to be something else...something new...something insidious. Hold me...I'm scared.